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Lincaean Universities
The Lincaean Universities are the premier school of Magic in the world. With a history dating back to the Age of Illumination and the fact that until the Dissolution all schools of magic were Lincaean, means that the prestige of being a Lincaean graduate is nearly worth the astronomical price of the tuition. The Universities offer a wide variety of education, from standard Wizardry through colleges of Artifice, Summoning and Alchemy. The Universities also offer a comprehensive curriculum for those not intending or able to learn magic, covering any scholarly subject. It is a common practice for the wealthiest of noble families to send at least one child to study at a Lincaean university. Because of this prestige and the comprehensive nature of the education, the Lincaean University name carries a lot of weight. In a decision where all else is equal, the Lincaean graduate will always win out. Indeed, the Lincaean graduate can be at an otherwise great disadvantage, and still come out ahead simply because of the school they studied at. This fuels a great deal of resentment and competition from other schools of Magic, and at times this competition can turn fierce. Lincaean students are taught in a highly structured manner. Students choose the courses they wish to attend based on their focus. Students wishing to become Abjurers must take certain classes, those who wish to be Generalists must take certain others, etc. Those who do not seek Arcane education, but are simply there for scholarly studies have a much lighter schedule than those who are acquiring Arcane skills. Students go to lectures six days a week, reading texts and taking notes on what their teachers present to them. Classes are taught by Wizards, and sometimes other scholars, who are considered masters in their field. After lectures are a series of Practicums where the Arcane students are given more individual instruction and practice. At the end of each term the students are tested both on what they have learned from their studies and what they have accomplished magically. A panel of Masters judges each student’s ability and decides whether they have passed or failed their courses that year. A failure can be extremely expensive for students seeking Arcane power, as they are then required to repeat that entire year of courses. In a nod to the differing maturation times of different races, Lincaean universities also offer courses that are designed to work with the lifespans of longer-lived peoples like Elves or Dwarves. These different streams spread out the courses over many more years than a human would take to do the same work, and give such students a greatly relaxed schedule. They are, however, also held to a stricter standard come testing-time, having been given a great deal longer to master their skills. The individual Universities are headed by a Dean of Masters, who oversees all the Masters and the resident Wizards and Scholars. Each faculty is in turn headed by their own Dean, while the Masters and other lecturers can teach courses in whatever faculty they are qualified for. Colleges are allowed a greater leeway in creating their own structure, but still must conform to Lincaean standards of practice, and must answer to the Dean of Masters. The Universities themselves answer to the High Council in Lincaeum, and, though they hate to admit it, the Magus Order. The Universities stay out of Secular and Religious politics, and are loathe to allow anyone to interfere in their own internal politics. They aggressively work to undermine other Schools of Magic, but only when they share the same area. Most nations do not boast a University, rather only the oldest, richest and most powerful of nations maintain a University, and thus when Lincaeum considers opening up a new campus the competition between nations to be the site of that campus is fierce and sometimes deadly. Category:World Powers